The present invention relates to the treatment of ascites and more particularly such treatment by means of an implanted peritoneo - venous shunt.
In the treatment of ascites, i.e. the accumulation of large amounts of fluid in the peritoneal cavity of the patient, it has previously been proposed to shunt or reroute ascitic fluid from the peritoneal cavity into the superior vena cava, the thoracic duct or the bladder. The providing of a shunt from the peritoneal cavity to the central venous system has offered many advantages over other types of treatment but certain difficulties have existed with prior devices and methods for effecting such treatment. The shunt devices proposed heretofore for such treatment have typically been either quite bulky, i.e. so as to require a more elaborate surgical procedure, or have been unduly subject to clogging by the presence of complex protein compounds in the ascitic fluid.
Among the several objects of the present invention may be noted the provision of an improved peritoneovenous shunt which is highly resistant to clogging; which is highly effective in the treatment of ascites; which is relatively easily implanted in a comparatively simple surgical procedure; which is of relatively simple and inexpensive construction and which is highly reliable which can be sterilized by autoclave without altering its internal mechanism. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.